'Apex Legends' Heirloom Secret Items: Microtransactions and Loot Box Guide

Apex Legends might be free to play, but the game’s publisher EA still has to make money somehow. That’s where microtransactions in the form of loot boxes (Apex Packs in this game’s parlance) come in, and there’s one unlockable item in particular that may drive you to spend real money on this free-to-play game: Apex Legends’ Heirloom secret items, including an ultra-rare knife and other cosmetic skins.

Here’s everything you need to know about Heirloom secret items in Apex Legends.

What are Heirloom secret items in Apex Legends?

In short, these are super-rare cosmetic items you can unlock in Apex Packs. Cosmetic means they won’t give you any sort of strategic advantage in the actual game, but they will help you stand out among the millions of other Apex Legends players.

The range of Heirloom items includes skins for the weapons you can pick up in each match, along with a unique version of the melee item that you start with automatically. There’s also special banners and Intro Quips (short lines of dialogue your can character say).

For now, the only Legend in the game with Heirloom items is Wraith. So unless you’re planning on using her as your primary fighter, it’s probably worth holding off on buying a bunch of loot boxes.

How do I get Heirloom secret items in Apex Legends?

Loot boxes (Apex Packs) are the key here, and there’s two ways to get them. You can simply unlock them by playing Apex Legends and hitting various milestones, or you can buy them directly from EA.

Each Apex Pack contains three items, but your chances of finding an Heirloom secret item in any one loot box is reportedly under 1 percent.

On the plus side, Apex Legends made a few other tweaks to how loot boxes typically work, mostly for the better. For one thing, your chances of getting a rare or legendary item are published publicly in the game and on EA’s website. You won’t get duplicates either, and if you’ll automatically get at least one rare cosmetic for every 30 boxes you open.

All of this means Apex Packs aren’t as annoying as your typical video game loot box, but most players will probably still ignore them. Then again, the promise of an ultra-rare Heirloom item might be enough to make you spend some serious cash on what’s supposed to be a free game.

Apex Legends is available now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.